


The Pack

by sztikerami



Category: Dir en grey, Jrock, Kiyoharu (Musician), Kuroyume, SCREW (Band), X JAPAN, lynch., the GazettE
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Arranged Marriage, Domestic Violence, Dubious Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Male Slash, Mpreg, Pack Dynamics, True Love, True Mates, Violence, Werewolf Mates, Werewolves, Wolf Pack, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:07:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5486480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sztikerami/pseuds/sztikerami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life in a werewolf pack has never been easy, but when you're the pack leader's son and your father's worst enemy is after you and the ones you love, it's utterly dangerous. Especially if you're an omega, someone considered weak and powerless with little to no rights in your society.</p><p>
  <b>HIATUS</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reita

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Evilbunnygirl93](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilbunnygirl93/gifts), [myvision4free](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=myvision4free).



> So... where do I start? First of all, I started writing this back in 2012 but I haven't published a single chapter of it. Originally a Christmas present for my sister, I had many doubts about this story and was afraid I'd get too many negative comments so I decided not to post it. I almost forgot about this fic until I happened upon an A/B/O fic by the wonderful evilbunnygirl93 @ LiveJournal that made me remember and a conversation with her gave me the courage to finally post this story. So here it goes...
> 
> Just for the note: English isn't my first language and this wasn't beta-read by anyone. (And excuse the lame summary...)
> 
> Please feel free to comment, I would be more than happy to know what you guys think about this story. :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reita gets some unexpected good news.

Reita was staring at his little collection of hand-made animal figurines on the shelf with a blank expression. His textbook was lying open on his desk with his hands placed on either side of it, the young werewolf's mouth hanging open. He was daydreaming again, staring at those small toys as if he was seeing them for the very first time. It always happened to him whenever he would try to memorise boring stuff such as ingredients of healing potions. His mind simply refused to focus on the task, going completely blank.

A knock at the door, however, was enough to snap him back into reality. The boy turned his head towards his bedroom's entrance, a small smile appearing on his lips as he took a sniff of the air, a familiar scent filling his lungs. There could be no mistake to it, it was his brother behind the door. “Come in, Byou.”

The door opened to reveal a beautiful man with a wide grin plastered on his face. His shoulder-length hair a light shade of honey blond, his eyes as blue as the sky, pale but gleaming with life. “Hey, little bro~” he chirped, walking over to Reita to poke his nose playfully. The younger male pouted but said nothing. “Finish all your homework today, because we'll need you in the kitchen tomorrow.” Soft tone, not a barked-out order. Unlike most alphas, Byou never liked ordering omegas around or belittling them, especially not his little brother.

“What?” Reita blinked in confusion. “Why? There are plenty of leftovers from today, don't tell me you're not eating them tomorrow.”

“It won't be enough. We're having guests next evening.” Byou said with an all-toothy smile. Reita mentally sighed. Guests, great. Just what he needed, more work around the house. He had been so busy lately that he could barely meet his friends outside of school, he’d been spending every possible minute with either his textbooks or doing housework.

“Don't make such a gloomy face, lil' bro. Our guests won't be just anybody” the older werewolf chuckled, earning a confused blink from Reita. “Hazuki's coming home.”

Hearing the unexpected news, the young male's face lit up with surprise and happiness. “Is he? That's great.” he smiled whole-heartedly at his brother, the frown long gone from his features. He looked so excited that one could easily confuse him with a boy who found out that Christmas was going to be sooner this year. Byou couldn't fight another chuckle seeing Reita's adorable reaction to his words.

“Yes, and he'll spend a few weeks at home. He's staying for the Fights. You know, one of his brothers is participating this year. He wants to see him earning his status.” the older male said.

“The Fights are in June, and it's only February.” Reita mumbled thoughtfully. “He's really staying for long. That's great.”

“What, you missed him?” Byou grinned at his brother teasingly. Reita turned his head away with a childish pout.

“Of course I missed him. He may be an alpha, but he's still one of my best friends.”

“May be an alpha but still a friend?” Byou shook his head, amused. “You make it sound like being alpha was a bad thing... It's almost insulting.”

“It's not an insult. Alphas don't usually befriend omegas, that's a fact.” Reita shrugged.

The older male didn’t argue, knowing Reita was right. Being an alpha, Byou himself had little to no omega friends. “But many do want to be around you” he said softly, ruffling up his younger brother's hair. “You're special.”

“To be honest, I don’t really feel too flattered about the fact that most of them just want to court me because I’m the pack leader’s son” the blond said, looking in his brother's eyes. Omegas weren’t usually allowed to voice their opinions so bluntly, but then again, Byou was his brother. Reita knew he could always speak freely in his presence.

“True. They are dickheads.” Byou let go of his brother's hair and took a step towards the door. “Anyways, finish up your homework and don't just stare at the wall like a dumb idiot. Hazuki hasn't had the privilege to eat your cooking for almost three years, so be a sweetheart and make something extra delicious.”

“So how many people should I expect?” Reita asked with a smile. Although busy, he couldn't deny that he loved cooking, it was one of his hobbies, so whenever someone came over for dinner, he was happy to make any meal. It hadn't always been like that, but in the past four years or so, he had learned how to cook pretty well and started to enjoy it more and more.

“Just Hazuki and Kaoru-san.”

“Okay.” the young werewolf nodded. “But we don't really have any meat left, so can I go--”

“No way.” Byou interrupted, his expression serious. “It's February, spring is around the corner, the woods aren't safe for a young unmated omega around this time of the year. Don't go hunting on your own. I'll take care of that for you.”

Reita let out a sigh, fighting the urge to state his not too flattering opinion, however, it must have been visible on his face, because Byou walked back to him, placed his hands on either of his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. “I know what you're thinking. I'm not trying to stop you from doing what you want. I just want to protect you. You're a 17-year-old omega, the pack alpha's son. You have good grades, you cook well, everyone agrees that you're a polite boy, obedient, also, you look really good. Reita, you need to understand this, there are many alphas out there that would love to make their claim on you. Not only in this pack, but in others, too. Father and I agree that letting you – or any other omega for that matter – wander around the woods all alone in spring, when your heat is approaching, could be dangerous. It's in your best interest. Okay?”

“Yes.” Reita nodded slowly, his expression sad. “I understand it.”

“Good.” Byou ran a hand over Reita's cheek affectionately. “Don't be so sad about it. When summer comes, you can go out into the woods as much as you want, but during the mating season we need to be extra careful to protect you.”

“I know.” Reita mumbled, lowering his gaze. “It's just... I really like spending my time in the forest.”

“We don't want to keep you locked inside the mansion. I can go out with you when I have some free time. Just don't go alone is all I'm asking of you, okay?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Byou wrapped his arms around Reita's shoulders and drew him closer. “Be careful with the alphas. I've seen how they look at you. I also heard them talking about you… Some of them would deserve their dicks to be chopped off for their filty words.”

Reita blushed slightly under his noseband. “Byou, they’ve been looking at me and talking about me that way ever since I presented as an omega, I know how to handle that. So don’t worry. I’m the only one my age who’s still a free prey, and yes, that made it even worse, but nothing I can’t deal with. Believe me, I’m used to that.”

“I wish I could just kick them in the balls though” Byou shook his head. “Father wants to discuss this matter with you soon, by the way. Your mating, I mean.”

“So he... chose someone for me?” Reita asked, trying to hide his frightened expression.

“I can't tell you anything, as he didn't tell me, but there's no need to worry. Father always makes sure to act in your best interest.”

“You really can't tell me more?” Reita made the cutest puppy eyes he could manage to convince his brother, and it worked.

“No, I really don't know anything. But if you ask for my opinion, I'm sure you will be happy with his choice, whatever it may be.” Reita let out a heavy sigh hearing that. He truly hoped his brother would be right. He gave him a faint smile.

“I envy you, you know.” he admitted softly. He was an omega and his brother was an alpha. They were siblings, the first and second born of the pack leader, but there was an undeniable difference between them when it came to the pack hierarchy. Byou gave him a knowing look.

“You have nothing to worry about. I won’t let anyone you don’t want lay so much as a single finger on you. If father chose someone you don’t like, I’m not letting him mate you. It’s as simple as that” he stated. Reita looked at his older brother lovingly. Byou was always so protective.

“It’s just… I'm not sure I'm ready for this.” he mumbled.

“Father won't force it on you. He promised you can wait as long as you want before getting mated, remember?” Byou told him reassuringly. He then planted a soft kiss on his brother's cheek and went out of the room, leaving a troubled Reita behind.

Life in a werewolf pack had never been easy, but it had been even worse since the Hunters had attacked Reita's clan, killing most of the omegas. A pack without omegas wouldn't survive – although alpha males had a habit to look down on omegas and treat them like their personal servants, they understood how important their role was. Without omegas, there would be no children. Without omegas, the werewolves would die out. So since that infamous attack, there was a law in their pack that made omegas getting mated before their 20th birthday mandatory.

As the pack leader's son, Reita had been supposed to become just as strong as his father Kiyoharu and his brother Byou, everyone had been expecting him to turn out an alpha. But fate had had other plans for him, he had been born an omega. In ancient times, before the Hunter attack, he would have been humiliated for being such a weakling, but now omegas, albeit still underlings, were treasured even more than alphas, and were standing higher in the pack hierarchy than they used to. Reita considered himself lucky for being born after the slaughter.

However, life wasn't all rainbows and butterflies. Being the leader's son came with certain responsibilities, and one of them, the most important one, was getting mated to an alpha from the higher class. Also, as the strongest alpha's fledgling, Reita was the most desired omega in the pack. Every alpha wanted to claim him, many had asked his father to give him to them. Kiyoharu knew better though, he didn't want his son to get mated at a slim age. They needed to wait patiently, that was what he had told everyone who had tried courting his precious son, to protect him. He promised Reita he could wait at least until his 18th birthday.

Reita and his best friends Ruki and Aoi were always surrounded by alphas. They were kind of famous not only in their pack, but in many others too, they were referred to as the 'Golden Triumvirate', which was kind of ridiculous in Reita's eyes. Aoi was an offspring of an ancient noble wolf family, that alone would be enough to make him just as desirable as Reita himself was, and he was also beautiful, a talented dancer and he knew very well how to wrap any alpha around his finger. Ruki on the other hand had been a stray, running away from his abusive father he had been taken in by Reita's father and raised by an old couple. But he was also smart, had many talents including singing and his unusual appearance made him stand out of the crowd. He loved to change his looks often and Reita once overheard a conversation between some of his alpha schoolmates discussing how cool that was. Truth be told, Reita envied his friends a bit. Had he been not the pack leader's son, none of the alphas would have been interested in him, at least that was what he believed. Not like he truly wanted anyone to be interested in mating him.

Reita wasn't looking forward to getting mated to an alpha. He found the entire idea disgusting, he hated that he was supposed to become nothing more than a servant, the thought of becoming a puppy producing machine sent shivers down his spine. He didn't know who his father had chosen for him, but he had the gut feeling he wouldn't like his choice. There was only one person he would have loved to settle down with, but it was just a dream, he was sure that alpha wasn't even interested in him. Maybe he used to, a couple of years ago, but not anymore.

The young blond sighed and sat back to his desk to continue studying. Focusing on the task wasn't easy with all those thoughts going on in his head, and the excitement he was feeling over Hazuki's return. Well, at least something good happens too, he thought to himself as he flipped through the pages of his textbook.

The next day was a Sunday, so they didn't have school, which was Reita glad for. Somehow he had managed to finish all his homework during the night, so he had a free late afternoon before he had to start cooking. He went out with Aoi and Ruki to the café, the only one in the pack's territory.

Located deep in the woods of the mountains in a small northern island of Japan, Kiyoharu's land was a collection of small villages. Most werewolves, unlike in ancient times, lived in houses similar to humans'. No wonder, werewolves were much alike to humans, except for the fact that they could change into animal form. However, since they needed to keep their existence in secret and didn't want humans to discover their territory, they lacked some comfort, including electricity, but they had a library, a café, shops, two teahouses, a nice school building and a council house.

The pack's only café was owned by a young beta called Uruha. He was a friendly person and made the most delicious coffee anyone could imagine. Also a good friend of the young omega: whenever Reita turned up with his friends, even at the most busy hours, Uruha always had a table for them, just like now.

The weather was nice, so the three omegas decided to sit outside at a table, sipping on their drink lazily in the sunset.

“So, when do you need to go back home?” Aoi asked Reita, who shrugged.

“We expect our guests for midnight, so I would say around ten.”

“Don't tell me you can cook an entire menu in mere two hours.” Ruki grunted with a straw between his lips.

“I have everything prepared, so I'll just need to put the food in the oven.” the blond shrugged.

“Whoever will be your mate, he'll be a lucky bastard.” Uruha interrupted suddenly, putting down a plate of cookies on their table. “Here, have some, it's on the house.”

“What, are you jealous, Uruha-san?” Aoi said, raising an eyebrow teasingly. Uruha shrugged it off with a small laugh and went back into the building to serve the other customers.

“Poor Uruha-san.” Ruki muttered, earning questioning looks from his friends. “What? He can't even have a mate.”

“Well, but he has a nice café.” Aoi shrugged.

“You're cruel.” Reita shook his head, but his lips curled into a small smile.

“No, that's the truth. If you ask me, betas are the luckiest ones in our society.” Aoi said, pointing towards a group of beta guards passing by the café. “They can have a career on their own, they can basically decide what they want to do with their lives. Isn't that cool?”

“If I could choose, I'd rather be an alpha, but even being an omega is better than living without a love life.” Ruki mumbled, looking down.

“Do you have a fever?” Reita leaned over to touch his short friend's forehead with a mocking frown. “You must be sick, the Ruki I know would never otherwise say such things. I thought you were, I quote, 'pretty much against all that mating crap.' Have you changed your mind?”

“I am against arranged mating, there's a difference.” Ruki grunted, snapping his friend's hand away, clearly unamused.

“Do tell.” Aoi muttered darkly, earning a look of concern from the other two. He was promised to an older alpha, his father had arranged everything behind his back. He didn't have a choice in the matter.

“Anyway, just think about it, they can't have a mate. It must be so lonely, being a beta.” Ruki went on, trying to change the subject.

“It's actually not that lonely. I have the company of such lovely customers like you guys.” Uruha spoke up behind Reita suddenly, startling the three. “And it's not like we can't fuck. Many of us have lovers.” he added, putting down a cup of ice coffee in front of the blond. The omega raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You have another admirer that paid a coffee for you. The idiot thought you would like a hot chocolate, so I changed his order for you.” he winked at the boy.

“Who was it?” Reita asked, and Uruha pointed at an older male sitting near the door. Aoi and Ruki rolled their eyes. It was nothing unusual, alphas buying Reita drinks or giving him small presents. Ruki and Aoi used to get presents all the time too, before they were claimed by their future mates.

Reita looked over at the alpha, offering him a small smile and a polite bow of his head as a silent thank you, although he was a bit disgusted by the other. The man was at least twenty or so years older than him, not someone he would like to do anything with. However, he knew that being polite was the best strategy in these situations.

The alpha looked amused as he lifted a cup of tea to his lips and took a sip, watching Reita intently, who turned his attention back to his friends. Neither of them noticed the tall, muscular figure watching them from a distance, only when suddenly a deep voice interrupted them, making the three young omegas jump.

“Hi guys. Long time no see.” Reita's heart skipped a beat. For a second he couldn't do anything but stare at the owner of the voice in surprise, before offering him a polite bow, his lips curling into a happy smile.


	2. Hazuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazuki comes home after three years and finds that many things have changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to update before Christmas but I was too busy with work and holiday preparations. Oh well...
> 
> Not much happens in this chapter, but I hope you'll enjoy.

Hazuki was exhausted. He had been traveling for six days straight, from Yoshiki's pack to home. Had he been in his wolf form, he would have arrived three days ago and would have been much less tired, but he had a huge luggage to carry with him. So he had to walk all the way home, and after spending five nights in the woods, he wanted nothing more than his comfortable bed that awaited him in his father's house.

He let out a sigh as he entered the pack territory. He took notice of some of the guards' scent right away and he knew they noticed him too, and it wasn't long before two betas in their wolf form walked out of the shade of the trees and bowed to him. Hazuki greeted them with a slight nod and continued walking through the woods. All the trees were familiar to him, and all the scents filling his nostrils. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

It had been too long. He was glad to be back home.

He continued walking until he reached the clearing where the main village of Kiyoharu's pack was located. He stopped briefly to take a look around, smiling to himself, before following the path that led to the main street. He passed by well-known buildings and well-known werewolves, greeted with bows along his way. He wasn't far from his father's house when a new yet somehow familiar scent caught his attention. Surprised, he stopped and almost dropped his handbag when he realized who it belonged to.

There was no mistake to it, he knew that smell, he had been longing for it ever since he had left. But it changed slightly overtime, no wonder, it had been three years since he could last smell it. It was more mature now, sweeter (he didn't know how it was even possible) and more tempting. He had to hold himself back from starting to howl right away.

”Reita...” he sighed. He couldn't wait to see the omega. He looked around eagerly, but at first he couldn't spot him anywhere, then his jaw dropped when he realized that the male was sitting there before the café, only a few metres from him. The change of his smell was nothing compared to the change of his appearance: the Reita Hazuki remembered was thin and much shorter, his hair was black and he wore plain T-shirts with tracksuits and sneakers. But this young man here was slim yet muscular, almost as tall as Hazuki himself, his blond hair spiked up into a mohawk. He wore a black zip-up hoodie with skinny jeans and studded motorcycle boots, and as he turned his head to look at the other omega sitting next to him, the alpha noticed that he was wearing make up too, some black eyeshadows adoring his dark eyes over the familiar piece of clothing he wore to cover his nose. For a while, Hazuki couldn't even move. He was stunned. He just stood there like a statue, watching the blond in awe. Reita surely has changed, and if possible, he was even more beautiful than before.

Snapping out of his daze, Hazuki shook his head and walked up to the blond and his friends. They didn't notice him until he cleared his throat, surprising the three omegas.

“Hi guys. Long time no see.” he said, smiling at them. They jumped up right away, bowing politely, as expected from omegas.

“Welcome home, Hazuki-sama.” Reita smiled, offering a smile that would melt any alpha's heart. Hazuki couldn't resist hugging the blond, taking in his smell. Surprised, Reita returned the hug with a slight delay.

“I missed you.” the alpha admitted in a low tone before releasing the omega. He looked him up and down. “You're blond.” he stated the obvious.

“Um, yeah... my brother's idea.” the omega mumbled with a slight blush. “He bleached it for me once and I liked how it turned out, so I have him do it for me ever since then.”

“It suits you.” Hazuki said honestly.

“Cousin, it's good to see you.” Aoi greeted him.

“Good to see you too.” Hazuki smiled and hugged him too then turned to Ruki to greet him with a nod.

“Would you like to sit down and have a coffee with us?” Aoi asked him.

“Well, I wanted to go home right away to get some sleep, but why not?” Hazuki shrugged. He only accepted the offer because Reita was here, but the omegas didn't need to know that. He grabbed an unoccupied chair for himself from a nearby table and sat next to Reita, dropping his luggage at his feet. “So, what have I missed in the past three years?”

“Where do I start...” Aoi chuckled as he sat back down. “Three years isn't exactly a short time, a lot has happened.”

“True.” Hazuki nodded. “You have no idea how happy I am to be back.”

“How long are you staying?” the dark-haired omega asked.

“At least until the Fights, although I hope I could stay even longer. I'm not exactly eager to go back to Yoshiki's pack... or anywhere for that matter. I missed home.” he admitted softly.

Uruha walked past them with another table's order before turning to his new guest.

“Hazuki-sama, it's good to see you.” he bowed.

“The feeling's mutual, Uruha. Do you still make that delicious ice tea?”

“Of course.” the beta nodded. “Can I get you one?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Right away, sir.” the café owner hurried away.

“So... how was your trip?” Aoi asked.

“Long and boring.” the alpha sighed. “You have no idea how glad I was I could come home. Yoshiki's pack is... well, let's just say it's very different from ours, and to be honest, I don't like it the least bit. But the place itself is beautiful. Their main territory is surrounded by rivers, some of them have waterfalls. A stunning sight.”

“That sounds lovely.” Aoi smiled. Uruha appeared next to their table again, with Hazuki’s order and a slice of cheesecake in hand. He placed the plate in front of Reita.

“Seems like your admirer wants to spoil you today.” he chuckled. Hazuki's eyes narrowed slightly. He never liked when other alphas gave Reita – _his_ Reita – unwanted attention.

“They never stop, huh?” he snickered, earning a small shrug from the blond omega.

“But at least he gets free cakes and coffee.” Ruki chuckled and winked at Hazuki. The alpha couldn't help but laugh too.

“I can't argue with that logic.”

“Seriously though, tell me one thing.” Ruki leaned closer. “I don't understand how the mind of alphas work, so maybe you can enlighten me. Fact is, most of us omegas can't choose our mates, hence spoiling us with presents won't work. I may be an exception, but Reita and Aoi aren’t. So why do you guys bother?”

“Honestly? I have no idea either, as I wouldn't court anyone without his father's consent.” Hazuki shrugged. He glanced at Reita from the corner of his eyes, humming in thought. “But then again, I wouldn't mate someone who doesn't want me, so of course I would do everything I could to make him like me. So I guess I would try to spoil him.”

“Next question: why don’t you have a mate?” Ruki smirked, making Hazuki's eyes narrow. “You’re getting old, Hazuki-sama, and you haven’t claimed anyone yet. Aren’t your father disappointed in you?”

“Don't you dare mocking me.” the alpha snickered. Aoi and Reita changed a knowing look. Ruki just didn't know when to shut up.

“I'm only saying that your father is known to strictly follow tradition. And by said tradition, you should have claimed yourself a pretty little omega years ago.” the short omega stated, tilting his head to the side.

“Hard to find a mate when you’re not home.” the alpha mumbled.

“So no one in Yoshiki’s pack caught your attention?” Ruki asked. Hazuki let out a sigh.

“No.” he admitted. “But tell me, why are we talking about my love life?”

“Because it’s an entertaining topic.” Ruki stated with a shrug.

Hazuki rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He decided to ignore Ruki's smartass comments for now. That little prick always loved to get on any alphas’ nerves for some reason or the other, and Hazuki didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing him snap. He looked over at Reita, who took a bite of his cheesecake in his mouth.

“How is your father?” the alpha asked to change the subject. Reita swallowed the bite before answering.

“Busy as always. The council already started preparing for the Fights. It's gonna be huge this year, we haven't had so many alpha candidates for ages.”

“Our pack is growing, albeit slowly.” Hazuki nodded. “That's good to hear.”

Small talk wasn't Hazuki's cup of tea, but he didn't mind it in good company – and today's company was especially good. He tried to stare less in the direction of Reita tough, so he wouldn't be too obvious, but kept asking him questions just so he could hear his voice. They talked for over an hour uninterrupted, until the older male that had bought Reita the cheesecake and coffee, and had been watching him intently ever since they had arrived, appeared next to their table.

“Reita, you look lovely today.” the man said, earning a sheepish ‘thank you’ from the young omega. Hazuki frowned to himself, but for now, he didn’t move or say a thing. He didn’t want to look like a jealous idiot. “I’m going out to the forest tonight. Would you like to join me?”

“Sorry, I can’t.” Reita said, shaking his head. “I’m expected to be home soon.”

“Then tomorrow, maybe?” the alpha insisted. Reita was about to say no, when suddenly the fingertips of the male brushed over the back of his neck, making the young omega gasp. The neck was the most sensitive and most vulnerable body part of a werewolf, that light touch was enough for Reita to freeze for a good minute. “Hm? What do you say?” the alpha mumbled.

Hazuki gritted his teeth and was about to stand up and slam the idiot’s head into the wall of the closest building, but was stopped by a light touch on his hand. He looked over to Aoi, who was looking at him calmly. “Don’t bother.”

The young alpha raised an eyebrow. What, should he just let that bastard touch Reita in such an intimate manner?

“Please, remove your hand.” Reita said, his voice low, calm and collected. Hazuki turned to look at him in surprise.

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t like it.” the alpha grinned and continued to caress the back of the omega’s neck.

“Whether I like it or not, it doesn’t matter. My father would be extremely disappointed if I let any alpha touch me this way. I don’t want to get you or myself into trouble. So please, remove your hand.” the blond said, looking into the elder male’s eyes without blinking. The man’s eyes widened for a second and he let go of Reita, taking a step back.

“Right… Kiyoharu-san is an extremely protective father, isn’t he?” he mumbled.

“He is.” Reita nodded in confirmation. "But thank you for the coffee and cake. I really appreciate your kindness."

The alpha looked satisfied. He gave Reita a cheesy smile and said goodbye. A moment later he was gone, leaving the three omegas and a stunned Hazuki behind.

"Now that was well-played." the young alpha muttered, looking at the blond in disbelief. "I'm speechless."

Reita raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Using your father as a threat. That was smart." Hazuki said, his lips curling into a smile.

"Yeah, well... I needed to figure out how to handle these situations, since you weren't here to protect me." the blond mumbled with a slight blush. Hazuki gave him an apologetic smile. Back in the days he had been the one to step in and break the nose of any alpha that would go overboard and forget about respecting Reita's personal space, but in the past three years he couldn't be here to make sure the omega was safe.

"Get yourself a mate soon, Rei." Ruki said, shaking his head. "These fuckers won't stop until you have someone's mark on your neck."

"Go figure..." Reita muttered, scratching the back of his neck. He hated to be touched there.

"You're the one to talk." Hazuki rolled his eyes at the short omega. "Maybe you should get yourself a mate first, Ruki."

The short omega snorted at the alpha's comment. "Been there, done that, smartass. For your information, my mating ceremony is on the third Friday of April."

Hazuki's jaw dropped, now that was some uexpected news. "You mean to tell me that you finally accepted Byou's offer?"

Ruki shrugged. "Yeah. So what?" he grunted.

"Nothing." Hazuki shook his head. "I just thought you would keep refusing Byou until the end of time. Anyway, congratulations."

"Yeah, everyone thought so." Ruki sighed. "I myself thought I would never be ready to accept an alpha as a mate, to be honest. But I..." his voice trailed off and he looked to the side, embarrassed.

"You're in love with him." Hazuki finished the sentence for him.

"Don't you dare mocking me." the short omega grunted, quoting the words Hazuki had said earlier.

"I'm not." the alpha shook his head. "Byou is my best friend, and I know for a fact how much he loves you. I'm happy to hear it's not a one-sided thing."

Ruki lowered his gaze. "You're nice for an alpha." he mumbled, earning a chuckle from Hazuki.

"Coming from you, that's quite a compliment." He turned to Reita. "So, you’re still single?”

“Yeah, I guess.” the blond shrugged, looking to the side in embarrassment. He hated talking about this topic.

“He’s the only one in our class.” Ruki noted, earning a surprised look from Hazuki.

“Really?” It was strange for him. Last time he met the omegas, they were practically fledgelings and now they were all adults. So much time had passed and he had missed so many things!

“Surprising, huh? We all thought Reita would be the first. Every alpha was so eager to mate him, I wonder what made some of them change their minds and choose someone else…” Ruki chuckled. “But that’s good, I suppose… considering Reita likes someone and I bet he wants to wait for that alpha to man up and start courting him.” he winked, earning a deathly glare from the blond omega.

“Shut up.”

“You like someone?” Hazuki asked, trying his best not to look jealous. _His_ Reita liked someone else? It was not much of a surprise though, he had left three years ago and he had never confessed his feelings to Reita, not properly, no wonder the omega didn’t wait for him.

“No.” Reita grunted, standing up. He wanted to escape this awkward, embarrassing situation as soon as possible. He hated Ruki and his smartass comments. “I’m sorry but I have to leave now.”

Hazuki stood up too, taking out his wallet and waving Uruha over. “I’m coming too. I haven’t seen my brothers for years, I want to meet them.”

“I’m coming over tomorrow evening with my family.” Aoi smiled at him. “Your father invited us over so we can have a huge family reunion.”

“Great.” Hazuki grinned at the omega whole-heartedly. He had missed his family, his distant relatives just as much as his brothers. Uruha came up to them, smiling.

“You guys are ready to leave?” he asked, earning a nod from both Reita and Hazuki. “Don’t bother paying, it’s on the house. Consider it my welcome home gift.” he told the alpha.

“You’re spoiling me, Uruha.” Hazuki smiled. “Thank you.”

Reita paid his share of the bill and the two of them left. The blond insisted to help Hazuki carry his luggage. They walked in silence until the alpha got bored with it and spoke up.

“You have changed.” he told Reita, earning a surprised look from the omega.

“You expected me to be the same person as I used to be back before you left?”

“I don’t know what I expected.” Hazuki shrugged. “But not this.”

“Is that good or bad?” Reita asked, giving him a side-glance.

“Does my opinion matter?” Hazuki shot back in sheer interest, earning another suprised look from Reita.

“It always did.” the omega said in a low tone.

“Really? You don’t seem to care much about the opinion of alphas.”

“It’s not because you’re an alpha.” Reita said softly, giving Hazuki a sheepish smile. “It’s because you’re you. And it’s not like I didn’t care about what alphas think about me, I simply stopped letting them treat me like a piece of meat. I’m not just some loathsome omega scum, after all.”

Hazuki stopped dead in his track hearing the last sentence. Those were his words, something he had told Reita a week or so before he had left Kiyoharu’s pack to temporarily join Yoshiki’s. That night he had hurt the omega, not only verbally but physically and he had never properly apologised for what he had done.

“I’m sorry.” he sighed, lowering his gaze. “I was arrogant to think that I had any right to tell you how to feel about yourself and act in front of others.”

Reita stopped too, turning to Hazuki with a gentle smile. “No. Don’t apologise.” he said, shaking his head. “Back then I had little to no self-esteem and I was so afraid of alphas that I didn’t even dare to defend myself from them. The things you told me that night… I needed to hear them. You have no idea, how much.”

Hazuki stared at Reita, studying the omega’s face in silence for a long while, before he sighed and continued walking.

“Still… I was an ass. Forgive me for that.”

“Okay, okay, if it means so much for you, I forgive you for being an ass.” Reita winked at him, making Hazuki laugh. He was still laughing when they arrived at his house a couple of minutes later.

“Gosh, I missed you, Rei.” he said, running a hand over the omega’s face affectionately.

“I missed you too.” the blond smiled, putting his hand over Hazuki’s. The alpha noticed how soft his hands were. It was rare for a werewolf to have such soft hands.

“When will I see you?” he asked.

“At midnight.” the omega chuckled, making Hazuki raise an eyebrow. “You and your father are coming over for dinner.”

The alpha was happy to hear that, although he would have liked to get some sleep tonight, he could at least spend some time with Reita. It was a good opportunity he wouldn’t want to miss.

“See you then.” he smiled and let go of the blond.

“See you, Hazuki-sama.” Reita smiled back. After they parted ways, Hazuki kept watching the blond’s figure until it disappeared from sight. He couldn’t help but keep thinking about that night three years ago and the events following it...


	3. A Night That Changed Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes one moment is enough to change everything.

3 years ago

That night found Reita in the forest. He had gone deep into the woods to hunt for something edible, preferably a deer. It wasn’t unusual for omegas to hunt alone, even though they weren't as fast and strong as other werewolves. It wasn't against the law, which was Reita glad for, he liked tracking his prey down on his own. Capturing it was another thing, he enjoyed it less, he always felt guilty whenever he killed an animal, especially if it was something cute like a chipmunk, but he needed to eat to survive, just like anyone.

The young werewolf was hiding behind the bushes, watching a deer eating greens peacefully, when suddenly someone spoke up behind him, making him jump.

“I recall giving you two rabbits earlier today. So why are you here, hunting?”

Reita turned around, his dark eyes betraying how startled he was as they met the other's gaze. It was Sugizo, one of the strongest alphas in the pack. Reita lowered his gaze and bowed his head politely to greet him. The fledgling was glad that he had changed into his wolf form earlier that evening. Had he been in human form like Sugizo, he would have been blushing hard.

“I've never seen your wolf form before.” the alpha continued, gazing the other's white fur. Some yellowish spots made the young werewolf's appearance unique, more beautiful than any other omega Sugizo had ever seen. “You're gorgeous, Reita.” he spoke his thoughts.

The young werewolf knew that it was impolite to stay in his animal form when being talked to so, although he had nothing to cover his nakedness with, he changed back into human. Sugizo wasn't nice enough not to look his body up and down, making the young male flustered.

“Thank you, Sugizo-sama.” Reita muttered, giving the other a shy smile as he tried to cover his nakedness with his bare hands.

“So, why are you hunting? Weren't those rabbits enough for dinner?” the alpha asked casually.

“I don't like hare.” Reita blurted out without thinking. As soon as he realized what he had said so carelessly, he clapped a hand over his mouth and lowered his gaze. Omegas weren't supposed to speak their minds like this. It had been a mistake, it could have offended Sugizo – and offending an alpha was one of the worst mistakes one could make. “I--I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--” Reita stuttered.

“It's okay, don't worry about it.” Sugizo told him, taking a step towards the blushing omega. Reita hesitantly looked up. The amusement was clear in the alpha's eyes as he was scanning the young male's face. “I should be the one apologising, I thought everyone liked rabbit. Next time I'll ask first before giving you a present.”

Reita blinked at the older male. He was being nice to him and that was new. Sugizo was known to be a jerk to omegas, and he had been ignoring Reita’s very existence from the beginning. They had never spoken aside from a couple of exchanged formalities, not until this day.

“I don't like eating cute animals.” the black-haired omega admitted sheepishly, giving Sugizo an apologetic smile. “But your present made me happy.” he added quickly.

Sugizo let out a loud chuckle, startling the deer that had been feeding without noticing them. The animal looked around cautiously and ran off, much to Reita's disappointment.

“Oops, sorry.” the alpha scratched the back of his neck. He didn’t look like he was sorry at all. “Just, you know, it's really adorable. Not eating something because it's cute... it's unheard of.”

If Sugizo's intentions were to make Reita even more embarrassed, he succeeded with that sentence. The young omega's face turned into a thousand shades of red and he clenched his hands into fists.

“I know it's stupid--” Reita started, but was cut off by Sugizo.

“It's not. It's adorable.” he told him gently, taking another step towards the omega. “I had your dinner run away. Let me make it up to you, okay? I go and hunt it down for you.”

“Uhm, no, please, you don't need to.” Reita protested quickly.

“But I want to.” Sugizo said and took another step towards the omega to close the distance between the two of them. Now he was close, so incredibly close that his scent filled Reita's nostrils in a distracting manner, his lips almost brushing the younger werewolf’s earlobe.

“Sugizo-sama,” he sighed, his expression confused, “what are you doing?”

“Scenting you.” Sugizo shrugged. A second later his eyes narrowed and a devilish smirk appeared on his lips. “Look at you, you’re all grown up now. I can finally claim you.”

Reita’s eyes went wide when the older male grinned at him and grabbed his upper arms to hold him in place. He was about to bite into the omega’s neck viciously to mark him, when suddenly someone spoke up behind them in a dangerous tone.

“Stop it.”

Hazuki stood there, tall and strong, arms crossed over his chest. Sugizo looked over his shoulders, glaring at the younger werewolf.

“What business do you have here, child?”

“Child?” Hazuki raised an eyebrow at that. The other was clearly insulting him. “I may be younger than you, Sugizo, but I can assure you, I’m not a child anymore. Now let go of Reita and leave, or else...”

“Or else?” Sugizo snorted. “You dare to threaten me, child? Let me remind you that I’m your better.”

“Are you really?” Hazuki tilted his head to the side, this time his voice just as mocking as Sugizo’s. “As far as I remember I’m a member of the Alpha Council, therefor an acknowledged leader of this pack, where you… well, you aren’t. So how would you be my better?”

Sugizo glared daggers at the younger alpha, but said nothing.

“So I advise you to let go of Reita and leave before I snap your neck for your attempt of breaking the pack’s law. I’m guessing I don’t need to remind you that the punishment for marking an omega without his father’s and the pack leader’s consent is death.” Hazuki told him sternly, earning a growl from the elder male. But he retreated a second later, letting go of Reita and leaving with a disgusted expression plastered on his face. Hazuki watched him until he disappeared from sight, then turned to Reita. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” the omega mumbled, his face red. “Thank you.”

Hazuki nodded. He stepped closer and took his jacket off, offering it to the omega and Reita took it gladly, putting it on as fast as possible to cover his naked body.

“You should be more careful around alphas. Especially now. Your scent is becoming very distracting… very tempting for our kind.” the alpha said, earning a confused look from Reita.

“Really?”

“Really” Hazuki nodded with a sigh. How wasn’t Reita aware of that? “You know, the ones like Sugizo make me sick. They think they can have everything in this world, but they are just pathetic, disgusting bastards.”

Hazuki paused to calm himself down. The outrageous behaviour of other alphas angered him to no end. He was feeling sorry for Reita, and could only hope the others hadn't managed to hurt him, the most precious omega in the pack, the one they all should be protecting.

Reita crossed his arms over his chest in discomfort, and his expression saddened. He felt uncomfortable under Hazuki's intense gaze. And then suddenly Hazuki was leaning closer, sniffing the air around Reita. The omega, holding his breath back, shivered. The alpha was too close to his bare neck, it was frightening, yet it was sending an unfamiliar, pleasant chill through his body cells.

“You’re gonna be in heat soon.” the alpha muttered mostly to himself, retreating. Reita took in a sharp breath, watching the other cautiously. “Your scent changes a couple of days before your heat hits, and it becomes more and more intense, more and more distracting for us alphas.” Hazuki explained patiently. “Didn't they teach you about that in school?”

“N--no.” Reita shook his head, once again blushing. He felt stupid for knowing so little about his own nature, and he really shouldn’t have been discussing this topic with Hazuki of all people. But they really didn't teach them much about heats in school, the only thing mentioned in class had been that as omegas, they were supposed to obediently open their legs for their alphas when in heat, and basically that was it.

Hazuki let out a huffy breath. “That's stupid. How else would you know what's happening to you? Someone needs to teach you.” he muttered, studying Reita's flushed face. “I know this is embarrassing for you, so I'm going to drop the subject, but let me tell you one important thing. You're not in heat, not yet, but you will be soon and you're already fertile. The change in your scent is a sign of you being ready to breed. Omegas become fertile a couple of days before their heat hits. It's not common knowledge, but I'm sure most alphas know about it, and now they are craving for you even more, so try to stay out of trouble's way, okay? I don't want anyone to claim you against your and your father's will.”

“O-- okay.” Reita nodded shakily. The idea of getting jumped on by anyone at any moment only because his first heat was around the corner was frightening. He felt like some poor deer, a mere prey in the alphas' eyes. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You should have known about this before, but I guess we can’t help it now.” Hazuki said. “Blame the stupid school system of our pack.”

“I really should have known.” Reita whispered in shame, his gaze glued to Hazuki's boots to avoid eye contact with the older male. “I'm such a pathetic, stupid--”

“Stop that!” Hazuki growled. Reita's heart skipped a beat when he found himself pinned up against a tree, the alpha's strong hand holding him in place by the neck. “Don't you ever dare to speak about yourself like that again, understood?”

The terrified omega gulped, but quickly muttered a low, “Yes.” But Hazuki didn't let go of Reita, his claws dug deep into the delicate neck, breaking the pale skin. The young male's eyes went wide and he gulped, the overwhelming fear making him tremble like a leaf. He had never been afraid of Hazuki, he considered him a friend, he had been the one to protect Reita on many occassion, but now he looked… _dangerous_.

“I asked you if you understood.” the alpha snarled, and for the first time in his life, Reita was truly afraid to death. No one had ever laid a hand on him, no one had ever punished him except for his own father and brother - and that attacker a couple of years ago, the one Hazuki saved him from.

“Y-- yes, Hazuki-sama, I un-- understand.” the fledgling managed to speak up, although it had been hard to find his voice.

Hazuki's grip slowly loosened around his neck, and a long second later the alpha retreated his arm and took a step back. Reita wanted to run, to get away from this man as soon as possible, but the fear was paralyzing him.

“Good.” Hazuki nodded slowly, studying the omega's face intently. “Because you need to remember this lesson, Reita. You are not just some loathsome omega scum, you are the pack leader's son. And as such, you're not to be insulted by anyone, especially not by yourself. Keep your head held high.”

Reita stared at the other in confusion, he didn't understand this man. A trembling hand came up to his neck to wipe the blood away, and the omega winced as he touched it. The five small wounds were stinging, and Reita knew they would be visible for days, maybe for weeks. Hazuki had marked him with the intention of punishment, it was a custom way to show the entire pack that he had been taught a lesson for showing an alpha disrespect. It was the most humiliating punishment an omega could receive, yet now Hazuki was asking him to keep his head held high. This didn’t even make any sense to the young omega.

“You can’t expect people to respect you, if you don’t treat yourself with respect. Dont talk about yourself like that ever again. And never let anyone walk over you. If an asshole like Sugizo attacks you, for fuck’s sake, fight back - you have the strength to do so.” Hazuki said, his tome low and serious. “Bare your neck. Let me see those wounds.” The alpha's order left no place to protest. Reita slowly, hesitantly let his arm down to expose his neck, although he was afraid the other would do something to hurt him even further. With bared neck, a werewolf was vulnerable, it wouldn't take Hazuki much effort to tear his Adam's apple out, if that was what he had been after.

Glad thing the alpha had no such intentions. He leaned into Reita's neck, sniffing the wounds his claws had created for long seconds, before running a tongue over them. The surprised omega gasped for air, his eyes going wider than plates. No one had ever touched him like this, and the slow, gentle, almost sensual licks were giving him goosebumps.

After Hazuki finished cleaning the wounds, he gently cupped Reita's face. “Your taste is delicious.” he whispered huskily. The flushed omega bit down on his lower lip nervously, much to the alpha's amusement. “It's getting late. Come on, I'll escort you home.”

The omega nodded, and followed Hazuki out of the woods in silence, until they reached Kiyoharu's well-protected cave. One of the betas guarding the entrance gave them a questioning look, but let them through the gate.


	4. Childhood

From the inside the pack leader's cave reminded Hazuki of a luxurious mansion, one of those he had seen visiting Tokyo a couple of years ago as a pup. He was the guest, so he let Reita lead him into the living room, where a surprised Byou was awaiting them. He must have smelt that they were coming. He was wearing his pyjama pants, a glass of milk in his hand. He frowned at the alpha and his brother.

“What happened?” he asked, but then he noticed the marks on Reita's neck. He turned to Hazuki, his expression cold. “What did he do?”

“It doesn't matter, he's gotten his punishment.” Hazuki replied with an expressionless face. Reita stood there in shame, until Byou barked at him.

“To your room, now. Be glad father's not home right now.”

The omega didn't need to be told twice, with a quick bow to Hazuki and his brother he rushed out of the living room. Only when his echoing footsteps died in the corridor did Byou speak again.

“I apologise for his behaviour. You know what a good boy he usually is, I have no idea what could have gotten into him.” he sighed, massaging his temple as he sat down on the couch, motioning for Hazuki to follow suit. “His heat is about to come, maybe his hormones are going nuts, who knows. I hope he didn't offend you too much.”

“It's okay, Byou, it's not a big deal.” Hazuki shrugged as he sat down. “I'm sorry if I woke you up.”

“Nah, it's nothing.” the future leader said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Surprisingly enough, I'm having a day off tomorrow, so it doesn't matter when I get to bed. I'm happy you came over, we haven't had a chance to talk for quite a while. It’s a shame. So how does it going?”

“Just the usual.” Hazuki sighed. “Long and boring meetings with the elders. These past weeks were rather uneventful. You know, sometimes I wish we could still be in school, instead of dealing with all this work.”

“Well, pack politics are boring.” Byou smiled at his friend. “But we can't do anything about that, huh? It's our responsibility to keep this clan safe. We are rather vulnerable compared to the other packs living nearby.”

“Yeah. I wish we could change that, but our pack is just too small.” the black-haired alpha nodded.

“That attack against the pack happened more than a hundred years ago, and we are still suffering the consequences of our ancestors' faults.”

“Well yeah, we--” The black-haired alpha paused, frowning slightly. Byou noticed it too, the smell of Reita getting stronger, signaling that the blond was coming their way. A second later there was a knock at the door and the omega stepped in sheepishly. He had changed into loose sweatpants, a tank top, and covered his nose with a small piece of creamy white cloth.

“I believe I told you to go to bed.” Byou said coldly. Usually he treated his brother lovingly, but tonight he was beyond pissed.

“I'm sorry.” the omega muttered, lowering his gaze. “I just wanted to give this back to Hazuki-sama.” He held the alpha's leather jacket up.

Hazuki stood up and walked over to the omega, smiling at him. He put a hand under Reita's chin, gently forcing him to lift his head up and look into his eyes. “Keep it, it's yours.”

Byou raised an eyebrow at the scene, but when his eyes met Reita's confused ones, he nodded in approval. “You may accept it.”

“Uhm, thank you.” the omega said, giving Hazuki a sheepish little smile.

The dark-haired alpha let go of Reita's chin and took a step back.

“Go. You need to get some sleep.” Although the omega looked slightly disappointed, he didn't protest. He politely said goodbye and turned on his heels, but before he could open the door, Byou's voice stopped him.

“Reita. Make us some tea.” The omega's face lit up that instant. He smiled wholeheartedly at his brother and nodded. Byou only spoke again when the door closed behind him. “Your jacket, really?” he chuckled, studying Hazuki's face in amusement.

“I want to know if he'd wear it.” Hazuki shrugged, sitting back down.

“It has your smell all over it.” Byou pointed out, earning a cheeky grin from his friend.

“Exactly.”

“Finally making your move, huh?” the auburn-haired alpha laughed. “It's about time. I was afraid someone else would get to him first before you'd gather your courage to court him.”

Hazuki raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t a matter of courage. But wait, how do you know about--?”

“Oh please, you've been head over heels for Reita ever since we were toddlers.” Byou smirked. “Only the blind couldn't see it, you always had your eyes on him.”

“I've been that obvious?” Hazuki muttered, scratching his upper arm in slight embarrassment.

“Yeah. And if I may give you an advice, talk to my father as soon as possible. Every fucking alpha wants to mate him, but you're the only one who actually cares for him.” Byou said, his tone suddenly serious. “Not to mention you're my best friend, I would be happy to have you as my bro-in-law.”

“Maybe I'm not as old fashioned as I'm supposed to be, because I'd like to find out if he likes me before proposing.” Hazuki admitted. 

“I’m happy you say that.” Byou smiled at his friend. “That’s very thoughtful of you. However, I can tell you now that my brother is head over heels for you. He has been for quite a while.”

Hazuki scratched his nose in embarrassment. “I hope you’re right. Anyway, I have seen your father to ask for permission to court him. But I didn’t propose. I told him I wanted to see first if Reita liked me, because the last thing I want is forcing him into a relationship. I want to see him happy.” he admitted, blushing. It wasn’t too manly to talk like this, but he wanted to be honest with his best friend.

“And what did my father say? That you can have him all for yourself?”

Hazuki sniffed the air to make sure the omega was still in the kitchen, making tea, before he started speaking in a low tone, his eyes sparkling. “Yeah, something like that. He told me I would make the perfect mate for Reita. Still… I can’t just take him, you know. I want to do this right. Court him first, make him fall for me… all that sappy stuff.”

“That’s cute” Byou chuckled. “Turns out you’re a helpless romantic.”

Both of them noticed the smell of an approaching Reita, so they cut the conversation short and waited for him to come back in the living room and serve their tea. When the omega handed Hazuki a cup filled with the hot liquid, and their hands brushed for the briefest second, Reita felt like electricity struck through his body. He blushed and pretended to be busy with serving his brother.

“So, Byou, you're still trying to seduce that Ruki?” Hazuki asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah.” Byou grunted, his expression sour. “But he keeps rejecting me, and apparently he thinks that the nickname 'asshole' suits me really well.”

“Gosh, Byou!” Hazuki laughed. “What a little diva, not even the future pack leader is good enough for him? Maybe you should find yourself someone else.”

“I want him.” the auburn alpha pouted childishly. Reita, who had been trying hard to hold back his laughter couldn't bear it anymore, he started giggling. Both Hazuki and Byou gave him a confused look.

“S-- sorry.” the omega mumbled, trying to wipe the grin off of his face, with little to no success. “It's just... his favourite nickname for you isn't 'asshole'.”

“Then what is?” Byou asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“I'd rather not repeat it, but I bet he'd be more than happy to tell you.” Reita shook his head with a laugh. “Go and ask him.”

“It must be really bad if you don't even dare to tell us.” Hazuki laughed. “Poor Byou, you really need to go find someone else.”

“I don't think so, no.” Reita said, his expression turning into a half-hearted, almost sad smile.

“What do you mean, Rei?” Byou asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well...” the omega looked to the side, scratching his cheek. “Promise me you won't mention him I told you, because he'd have my neck, but Ruki actually likes you a lot.”

“Then why can't he just accept me and let me claim him already?” the auburn-haired man grunted.

“Because he's afraid.” Reita told him in a sad tone. “He doesn't want to be claimed by anyone. He's terrified of alphas.”

“Why?” Byou gaped at his brother, patting the couch next to himself for Reita to sit down. The omega did so, biting his lower lip in hesitation before he started speaking.

“I'm not really supposed to tell you this, so please, don't let him know I did.” he glanced up at his brother. “You know that Ruki's from another pack and our father was generous enough to take him in and not let him wander the woods as a stray.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Byou nodded. “His father abandoned him, right?”

“Not exactly.” Reita sighed. “He used to abuse Ruki and his siblings. As much as I can understand, his father was one of his pack's leaders, but none of his children turned out an alpha. He was so ashamed of them that he started abusing them and his three mates. Ruki was the smallest and youngest, so he had it the worst. His father would beat him for every little mistake he made, he starved him, tortured him... I saw the scars on his back, it's an awful sight.”

“So he ran away?” Byou hummed.

“Yes.” Reita nodded bitterly. “He wasn’t abandoned, he ran away from home when his father threw him out their cave to sleep on the streets because he was hungry and stole some food from the kitchen.”

“So he's not really an asshole, he just wants to hide how scared he is, huh?” Byou mumbled, lowering his gaze. “You should have told me earlier.”

“I'm sorry. I promised him I wouldn't.” Reita sighed.

“It's okay.” Byou rubbed Reita's shoulder lovingly. “At least I know it now.”

“I can't understand some people.” Hazuki spoke up suddenly, gaining the two brother's attention. “They are supposed to love their fledglings, alpha, beta or omega, it doesn't matter. Why would someone do something so cruel to their own flesh and blood?”

“You know that alpha kids are the most treasured ones because of our status in the werewolf society.” Byou said, shrugging. “I’m not saying I agree with these people’s methods, by no means, but I can understand where they are coming from. Everyone wants to have strong heirs.”

“To be honest with you, I don’t.” Hazuki said, making a face. “I want my future children to be happy, alpha, beta or omega, it doesn’t matter.”

Reita blinked at Hazuki in interest. He'd never heard an alpha speaking like that before.

“I have to agree.” Byou nodded, putting his cup down on the coffee table. “But let’s not talk about these matters now.”

After they didn’t talk about any serious matters, they simply shared stories and jokes with each other. They finished their conversation only minutes before sunrise, when they noticed that Reita had fallen asleep, his head rested on Byou's shoulder. Hazuki smiled at the sight.

“I guess I should take my leave now.” he said, standing up. Byou followed suit, picking the peacefully sleeping omega up bridal style. The two of them made their way to Reita's room first to put him in bed, before Hazuki waved goodbye and went home.

Next evening Hazuki saw Reita walking around town wearing his jacket. But before he could ask him out on a date, Kiyoharu summoned him to his office, turning his life upside down.


End file.
